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RF c05s03
Text Late that night, Ardent Desire sat with Morning Glory resting against him silently. He had a foreleg around her, and she was silently holding his hoof, her head resting on his shoulder and her eyes closed. It had ended up being a long, difficult day, and Ardent had been yelled at a lot by both his siblings... actually, Radiant Beacon had berated Morning Glory pretty viciously as well. That, then spending an hour working with Chestnut, and then several hours after that dealing with other issues around the manse... it left Ardent feeling emotionally drained, and he knew that Morning Glory felt the same. They just wanted to be together right now, and not in the sense of anything except... two ponies, who needed the comfort of each other. Who needed to feel close to each other, physically and emotionally. Who needed to still the pain... any way they could. Finally, Morning Glory sighed softly and murmured: "I've never been yelled at by our baby sister before, and... the way she looked at me. The way she looked at you... something seems wrong, Ardent Desire. And no, I'm not... I'm not blaming you..." "But you should, because it's my fault. I know it is, but... I don't understand. I mean, she doesn't seem under my control, right? We didn't... we made sure I released her from my influence, right?" Ardent Desire said uncertainly, and Morning Glory only shook her head before the stallion grimaced and looked up at the ceiling. "I was sure we did... what if we didn't, though..." "Then would she really have called you... well, I'd rather not repeat all those words she used. Stop flattering yourself, Ardent Desire, I think she was even more disgusted by you than me." Yet at the same time, something gnawed at Morning Glory: the way Radiant had acted, it was like... she had maybe been trying too hard. Maybe trying to... no, no. That's insane. "I don't want to think about it either way, I don't... I can't care right now, Ardent. I can't care about anything, except..." The two found their gazes drawing slowly to one another's, and they studied each other for a few long moments before Ardent Desire smiled faintly, and Morning Glory looked up into his eyes quietly. "I love you, big brother." "I love you too, little sister. I always will, and... I know... I've never done a good job of it in the past, and that I maybe spent too much time... depending on everyone else, but... I promise to protect you from here on out, like a big brother should. Even if I'm not very good at it." Ardent Desire murmured softly in return, and Morning Glory gave a small smile back to him. There was silence between the two, and then they shifted slowly, pulling each other closer, bodies pressing together as tight as they dared. Eventually, both slipped into sleep, with their forms still curled together, and both were unaware of when Radiant Beacon silently slipped into the room to lean over the couch and glare down at them with jealousy and fury. They were hypocrites, and liars, and traitors... yet still she felt an intense, severe need for Ardent Desire. But her compulsion had transformed, too: she recognized that he was forbidden, that he was something she wasn't supposed to have, and that only made her want him all the more. And she knew he was attracted to her: she was young and beautiful and always said the right things and oh, she would let him do anything he wanted to her, not like bossy Morning Glory... Radiant Beacon glared furiously at her older sister, her hatred so intense that it seemed to make the older sister writhe a bit in her sleep, as if the poisonous thoughts of the younger mare were seeping into her dreams. Her big sister had been her idol, her own maternal figure, since she had never known their mother... and now, that same pony had stolen away what was rightfully hers to experience and enjoy, and banned her from it. And for all her reasons, there the whore herself lay in her own brother's embrace... Her eyes flashed as she looked back at Ardent Desire, longing for him, lusting for him, and feeling like... like he should belong to her. Oh yes, she would do anything for him, she wanted him happy, but she would not share him with her traitor big sister... and she would make it clear that he was hers, all hers, even if she let him continue to play with others. Her thoughts were confused as emotion rippled through her and overrode logic and sense, and the unicorn didn't even recognize how alien some of these thoughts were to her sweet nature. All her former personality was being stripped away, dissolving in a mix of Ardent Desire's influence and raw greed. Radiant Beacon left after a few minutes, still fuming, to head to her room and plot and curse. When she eventually fell asleep on her bed, muttering through dark dreams even in her rest, she was unaware of the devil that calmly let itself into her room, and laid a single thin claw on her temple, amplifying her greed and slowly killing what little conscience and morality remained inside her. The devil's golden mask gleamed as its orange eyes studied the pony, and then it nodded calmly once as it drew away from her and said softly: "Treasures cannot be shared. They must be claimed and hidden away... or they must be destroyed." The next day, Radiant Beacon felt sick to her stomach, worsened by the relentless migraine throbbing in her temples. Morning Glory came to visit her and give her some tea, but the sight of her older sibling only made the younger unicorn feel angry and frustrated and bitter, so she rolled over in bed and stayed that way until Morning Glory left. Even feeling sick, late that night she dragged herself through the mansion to once more silently slip into the master bedroom... the room Ardent Desire and Morning Glory shared almost every night .She looked at them with hate and disgust and fury given crueler fangs from the pain that ached in her head and stomach and heart. Her judgment was suffering more and more, and wild imaginings and delusions had begun to rise up through her mind as sanity crumbled away like brittle brick turning to rubble and dust. Radiant Beacon dragged herself off after more than an hour of simply staring at the two, while her rampant emotions tried to sort themselves out. But love made hate stronger and longing fueled bitterness and rage: the little positive she tried to cling to transformed in her warped mind into negative, and when she retreated to her room, she buried her face in her forelegs and sobbed until she fell asleep with tears spilling down her cheeks. Depression claimed her for the day, made her illness worse: when Ardent Desire came to visit her alone, she whispered for him to come closer, come closer, and when he finally did, she lunged and grabbed him and tried to kiss him. When he shoved at her wildly, she screamed at him, raving between threats and promises until he finally fled from the room. And no longer would she accept visits from anypony else: not healers, not servants, and especially not Morning Glory. And scared, trembling Ardent sought the only source of comfort he could: Morning Glory. And, not wanting to admit how afraid she was herself, Morning Glory held her big brother close and soothed him and pretended she was doing this all for him, even though by now she had completely given in herself. This rhythm continued for weeks, a vicious stalemate between the siblings, distracting them from the world around them until Ardent Desire finally suggested asking Cupidus for help. Morning Glory hesitantly agreed, and the orange stallion had called to his patron. He hadn't been expecting much: Cupidus had been mostly absent these last few weeks, even though he'd said he would help look for Helena and assist in other matters. So he was surprised when Cupidus said calmly that he would go to Radiant Beacon, and settle her mind. Ardent Desire and Morning Glory had followed Cupidus to Radiant Beacon's room, where she had been in a crying fit: she didn't even respond to any of them when they opened the door, nor did she react when Cupidus gently grasped her forehead. But suddenly, she had gone still, and Cupidus had paused for a few moments before saying quietly: "Her mind has been altered by another entity. I will make an adjustment." It was very much the truth: Cupidus simply didn't state that the other entity was him. And when Radiant Beacon settled and looked up silently, when her sanity seemed to return all at once, Cupidus didn't even have to look over his shoulder to sense the thankfulness, the trust, now radiating from both siblings behind him. But he only ignored it, stepping out of the way so Radiant Beacon could lunge towards her family and share a hug with them and start crying again, but different tears, softer tears, as she apologized over and over and they soothed her... That night, Ardent Desire and Morning Glory curled up in the master bedroom, sleeping heavily, their guard lowered, the entire manse quiet and relaxed. Everyone thought everything was back to normal, that all their problems had been solved. So it was easy for Radiant Beacon to leave her room, and calmly make her way to the kitchen. It was easy for her to find the heavy cutting knife, and carry it silently through the peaceful household. And it was easy for her to slip into her sibling's room. Cupidus sat calmly in the corner, checking his pocketwatch as Radiant Beacon stared hollowly at the bed, the knife held in her mouth, gleaming in the pale moonlight spilling in through the windows. It was Ardent Desire her eyes locked coldly on, and she slowly made her way towards the bed, standing over her siblings, staring down at them without emotion, with only cruel purpose. She believed that Ardent Desire was the most valuable pony in the world... but that he would never care about her. Her mind was fragmented and her memories altered, believing that they were lovers, not siblings, and he had abandoned her. And she believed firmly that if you could not possess a treasure yourself, then it should be destroyed, so no one else could enjoy it either. Under the clinical eyes of the devil, she rose the knife, then brought it down. And Cupidus only watched with detached interest as the knife rose and fell and slashed, and red liquid painted the walls and floor and ceiling: the screaming bothered him no more than the sights, and nor did the pleas, or the gore, or the desperation. They struggled with each other, but soon, the stallion's body fell to the ground, fighting to remain alive, Ardent Desire's desperate eyes staring at Cupidus as his mouth worked uselessly... but the devil only continued to watch, unmoved by the howls or pleas or the stallion's miserable, slow death. He only continued to study his 'investments,' until the second corpse hit the ground. Servants and mares came running in, and shortly there was more screaming, more struggling, howls and cries of betrayal and desperation, and Cupidus decided to take his leave. The devil was invisible to the other ponies, but he had seen what he needed to see, and there was no point wasting time in watching mortal dramas play out. Not when he had business to attend to in Helheim. After all, he had assets to manage, investments to monitor... and soon enough, a brand new slew of business opportunities. He had to make sure he properly thanked Ardent Desire... he wouldn't want to appear unprofessional. Cupidus vanished, heading back to the dark place he called home to have his servants prepare for the imminent arrival of a new soul. A soul that he would have his serfs punish, reshape, and polish until it was worthy of being part of his vast empire, and another testament to the fact that nothing stood in the way of the Greed devil getting whatever he set his eyes upon. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story